


Tears of an Angel

by phendrifts



Series: phendrifts' Xenotober 2020 [7]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: AU where Pneuma doesn't have a get out of jail free card, Character Study, Gen, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Spoilers, sorry pneuma fans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26885614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phendrifts/pseuds/phendrifts
Summary: After pushing Rhadamanthus off the World Tree, Pneuma is sent flying into space. (Day 7 - Orbit)
Series: phendrifts' Xenotober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947715
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: Xenotober 2020





	Tears of an Angel

Pneuma floated in the depths of space, feeling her consciousness fade in and out. An explosion to her right, the debris whisking past her face. Her eyes remained barely open as she hurtled away from Rhadamanthus, away from Alrest, away from home. 

She had never seen the Earth (could she even call it that anymore?) from this far away. A solitary memory phased into her mind, a picture of the planet millenia ago. That was strange. How could she have remembered this…? In her physical form, she had not remembered her father, or the destruction and recreation of the Earth. 

Well, she had answered her own question. Her physical form was fading. Her consciousness wasn’t the only thing fading in and out- it was her entire existence being torn apart. 

She felt herself raise an arm with the middling strength she had left. Alrest was so small now, yet she still felt herself floating away. She was unsure if there was anything in the universe that could stop her rapid acceleration- and the Aegis figured that she would probably die before she would find out. 

She forced her eyes open. Just a little more time. 

It was funny. In her last moments, she was no different than the humans she had once pushed away. In her last moments, she wanted more time. In her last moments, all she thought was

_ Could I have done anything differently? Could things… have been better? For me, for Malos… for Father…  _

It was futile, and she knew that. No use crying over spilled milk and all that. But the sadness kept her awake. It kept her alive.

Not that she was  _ scared  _ of dying. Just… she enjoyed living more, that’s all. 

She blinked, and she felt another tug at her soul, bringing her to a place unfamiliar. She shook her head weakly, trying to regain feeling in her body. She attempted to move.

Not the best idea. Everything hurt. But that meant she was still alive. She weakly kicked with her feet, but that didn’t stop her little trip towards the end of the universe. 

Earth was merely a dot on the horizon, now. There was no trying to make it back. All she could do was move, and think, and… and cry. 

The tears came faster than she thought. She had thought she was stronger than this, but even the hardest souls crack someday, right?

No, no, no, no. Keep it in, Aegis. Deep breaths. 

She tapped the space in her chest where her core crystal once was. It was her tether to the world. It was comforting to have once felt the emerald gem fastened tightly to her, but now the space was empty. Like the void she had been hurtled into. 

Cold. It was cold. She laughed, wrapping her arms around herself as she curled up into a ball. The Aegis, reduced to this. 

Her eyelids were as heavy as ever now.

“Oh, Poppi. I’m so sorry, girl. You deserved better than that. I know you looked up to me. I know. I’m sorry, Poppi. I’m sorry…” 

The words were out of her mouth before she could even process them. And she would never get the chance to.

Her mind ran cold, the void asked for Pneuma to join them.

She let herself become adrift in the void of space.


End file.
